RATIONAL USE OF 3rd GENERATION CEPHALOSPORINS IN TERTIARY CARE HOSPITALS: A CONCURRENT DUR

Background: Assessment of use of antimicrobials can be performed by evaluating their use. Drug use evaluation is a performance improvement method that concentrates on improvement and evaluation of drug use processes to achieve optimal patient outcomes. Objective: The objective of this study was the evaluation of 3rd generation cephalosporins in tertiary care hospitals of Lahore. Method: A concurrent cross-sectional study was conducted on 160 patient files selected using systematic random sampling method from in-patient prescriptions with 3rd generation cephalosporin during hospitalization in tertiary care hospitals. Descriptive statistics were applied by using IBM SPSS statistics version 28. Results: Out of the 200 patient file, 160 patient files have complete information of the prescribed drug. Among the 160 patients, 67(41%) were female and 93(58.1%) males. Among 160 patients, 141(88.1%) Ceftriaxone was most commonly prescribed drug followed by 14(8.8%) Cefoperazone (in combination with salbactam) the 5(3.1%) were given cefixime and in indications for drug being prescribed 103(64.5%) were found to be appropriate while 57(35.5%) were inappropriate. (Not according to the WHO criteria for prescribing the third-generation cephalosporin). Conclusions: To improve the rational use of 3 rd generation cephalosporins and prevent the development of resistance; prescribers should adhere to the national standard treatment guideline.